Visas are required when you travel to a country that is not your own, and countries like the USA are quite fastidious about the people they allow to visit their shores, whether for business or pleasure. You can skip this cumbersome process of applying for a visa if you obtain an Electronic System for Travel Authorization or ESTA as it is more familiarly known.
When you get an ESTA authorization you will no longer be in need of a visa to travel to the United States. There are many other countries that also have their own version of ESTA that greatly reduces the hassle of traveling to them. You have to apply for this authorization at least seventy-two hours before you plan to travel, and all applications have to be made over the Internet. The procedure and the form that you need to fill up is routine and fairly simple, and authorization, as long as your form is properly filled up and all necessary documents are in order, is fairly quick, and almost immediate. This authorization can last for years, as long as you meet all the conditions that are a part of this electronic approval.
This form of electronic visas are not available to citizens of all countries, and you will have to contact the embassy of the country you want to visit to understand whether your country is allowed this easy means of travel. There is also a time restriction and such visas are only available to those who will stay in the country of the visit for less than 3 months. If your stay is longer, you will need to apply for a regular visa and complete all the formalities that these visas require. Your reason for visiting the country that is giving you this electronic visa is important and must be valid and provable.
Passports that are traveled on with an ESTA visa need to be machine readable, and have a digital photograph or failing that must have an electronic chip embedded in the passport. Your electronic application must include the details of your flight, its number and the name of the airport from where you will be traveling out of your country. The submission of this electronic application results in an application number being generated, which you need to keep with you for ready reference. An approval of your application does not allow you to gain automatic entry, and you have still to pass the scrutiny of the officer at the place where you enter the country you are traveling to.
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